page_title: Kingdom of Tahiti
section_title: French Protectorate
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of Tahiti / History / Pōmare IV / French Protectorate
caption_attribution_description: English: Abel Aubert du Petit Thouars, circa 1864.
context_page_description: The Kingdom of Tahiti was a monarchy founded by paramount chief Pōmare I, who, with the aid of English missionaries and traders, and European weaponry, unified the islands of Tahiti, Moʻorea, Tetiaroa, Mehetia and at its peak included the Tuamotus, Tubuai, Raivavae and other islands of eastern Polynesia. Its leaders were Christian following the baptism of Pomare II. Its progressive rise and recognition by Europeans allowed Tahiti to remain free from a planned Spanish colonization as well as English and earlier French claims to the islands. The Kingdom was one of a number of independent Polynesian states in Oceania, alongside Raiatea, Huahine, Bora Bora, Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Rarotonga and Niue in the 19th century. The Kingdom is known for bringing a period of peace and cultural and economic prosperity to the islands over the reign of the five Tahitian monarchs.
  Tahiti and its dependencies were made a French protectorate in 1842 and largely annexed as a colony of France in 1880. The monarchy was abolished by France shortly thereafter, though there are still pretenders.
context_section_description: In 1842, a European crisis involving Morocco escalated between France and Great Britain when Admiral Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars, acting independently of the French government, convinced Tahiti's Queen Pomare IV to accept a French protectorate. George Pritchard, a Birmingham-born missionary and acting British Consul, had been away at the time. However he returned to work towards indoctrinating the locals against the Roman Catholic French. In November 1843, Dupetit-Thouars (again on his own initiative) landed sailors on the island, annexing it to France. He then threw Pritchard into prison, subsequently sending him back to Britain.
  During this time, Thouars managed to convince Pomare IV to sign to putting her country under the protection of France, although he was not empowered to do so, nor was he ever sanctioned in this regard. News of Tahiti reached Europe in early 1844. The French statesman François Guizot, supported by King Louis-Philippe of France, had denounced annexation of the island, and the treaty was never ratified by France.
  However, the French did have an interest in the region, and the treaty was enforced from its signing by various factions. The Franco-Tahitian War between the Tahitians and French went from 1843 to 1847. Pomare IV ruled under French administration from 1843 until 1877.
  While the Dynasty retained their title for some time, they lost outright control of their country.
caption: Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars
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